Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, January 10
Jan 10, 2014
To go directly to the section of your choice, click on a hyperlink below. Other hyperlinks to meeting information, bills and news are noted in bold type.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events
10:00 a.m.–Florida Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) – Division of Consumer Services Rule Development Workshop. Proposed amendments would transfer oversight of Rule 69O-137.010, “Holocaust Victims Insurance Report and Standards of Proof” from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to the DFS as Rule 69J-137.010, in accordance with changes to s.626.9543, F.S., known as the Holocaust Victims Assistance Act. To view the workshop notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Minnesota is “the new Florida” in extreme weather catastrophic losses in 2013
The new ‘Florida.” That’s what insurance experts are calling Minnesota when it comes to catastrophic insurance losses from extreme weather events the past several years, writes Paul Huttner for Minnesota Public Radio’s blog.
Liberty Mutual Selling Workers’ Comp Unit Summit Southeast to American Financial
Liberty Mutual Insurance said it has agreed to sell Lakeland, Florida-based Summit Holdings Southeast Inc. and its related companies to American Financial Group in an all-cash transaction valued at $250 million, Insurance Journal reports.
Parasailing insurance bill on hold in Senate, but has industry support
Six people have died in parasailing accidents since 2000 and 20 people have been seriously injured, reports show. A legislative review found that high winds or sudden gusts contributed to nearly half of the accidents, Tampa Tribune’s James Rosica reports via the St. Augustine Record.
Precourt officially resigns House seat
Rep. Steve Precourt, R-Orlando, made it official Thursday, resigning his seat in the Legislature to take the executive director job at the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Bill halting new red-light cameras clears House panel
A bill prohibiting local governments from installing new red-light cameras passed through the House Transportation and Highway Safety Committee on Thursday, but the annual battle has just begun, pitting those claiming the devices are essential to traffic safety and those who see them as a cash stream for cities, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Driver’s license, vehicle fee cuts – not as much as Scott’s – move in Senate
Florida drivers will likely see a cut in the cost to register their vehicles starting in September, but the size of that cut remains to be seen, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Florida has leanest state government in U.S. – is that a good thing?
Floridians paid just $37 in taxes per resident on state government in 2012, nearly half the national average, according to a recent Department of Management Services Workforce Report. The national average for state workers is $75 per resident, SaintPetersBlog.com’s Peter Schorsch notes in his blog on a Tallahassee Democrat story by Travis Pillow.
Bill sets criteria for ruling on residency
Two legislators — who estimated that up to 10 percent of their colleagues don’t really live in their legislative districts — proposed criteria Thursday for legally proving whether an elected officer is dodging residency requirements, The Florida Current’s Bill Cotterell reports.
Latvala calls state land-selling effort a “charade”
Senator Jack Latvala on Thursday criticized the state for trying to sell conservation land, calling it a “charade” and countering a Senate appropriations subcommittee chairman’s earlier praise for the effort, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Key Florida senators unite on springs bill with nearly $380 million to treat wastewater
A key group of Senate committee chairmen meeting among themselves on Thursday agreed to support filing a bill that would provide nearly $380 million a year to remove or improve septic tanks to protect springs and groundwater, The Florida Current’s Bruce Ritchie reports.
U.S. House Introduces Bill to Repeal Flood-Insurance Reforms
A Pennsylvania congressman Tuesday introduced legislation that would effectively repeal all changes to the National Flood Insurance Program imposed by a controversial 2012 law, National Underwriter’s Arthur Postal reports for PropertyCasualty360.com.
A.M. Best: Reserve Concerns Drive Negative Outlook for Commercial Lines
This year should see more negative rating actions than positive due in large part to the likelihood of insurers taking reserve charges, A.M. Best says. National Underwriter’s Phil Gusman reports for PropertyCasualty360.com.
Alvarez & Marsal: Insurance Merger and Acquisition Trends That May Lead to Perfect Storm in 2014
Alvarez & Marsal’s Mark Sponseller and Brent Perkel explain in this Insurance Journal article that a rebuilding of acquisition pipelines for corporate acquirers appears to be occurring, together with an improving economic climate in the United States.
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